Mom says she found insect in can of spinach

LAYTON, Utah (KSTU) -– What began as a typical night for a woman cooking dinner for her daughter took a turn for the gross when a can labeled spinach was found to contain some unwelcome protein.

"My daughter had a fork full, was about to put it in her mouth, and I said, 'Honey, wait, don't eat that!' Right in the nick of time I noticed it," JR Fugit said.

Fugit said she wasn't sure what it was at first.

"I pulled it out thinking it was plastic, and realized I had a hold of its wings," Fugit said.

The bug was inside a recently opened can of Del Monte spinach.

"This is very gross, very gross," Fugit said.

The protein mixed in with the greens brought dinner to an abrupt end.

"My daughter is very freaked out about it, neither one of us want to eat anything out of a can anymore, and she said, 'Mom, I'm never eating spinach again' and it was hard enough to get my kid to eat vegetables in the first place," Fugit said.

The bug appears to be a praying mantis.

"I'm pretty sure it's got some wings, and it looks like a praying mantis," Fugit said.

The insects are green or brown, so they can blend in with leaves to stalk their prey. But this one blended right into Fugit's dinner.

Fugit said she's grateful she caught the creature, but she worries other parts may have wound up in different cans.

"His legs were no longer attached, that's another reason I'm scared of other cans of spinach I have, in case the legs are in another can," she said.

Fugit said she called Del Monte and got an apology and $20.

"Twenty bucks isn't even going to cover what I have in my pantry that I can't even stand to look at," Fugit said.

More than anything, Fugit said she wants to see better quality control to keep bugs from showing up uninvited at other family dinners

"I don't even know what to say, I'm just still so creeped out by it, my skin is still crawling," Fugit said.

FOX 13 News has reached out to Del Monte for comment on this story, but so far has not yet received a response.